


yellow is not an in-between colour

by StrawberryRain



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, featuring le friends, fluffy fluff fluff, ichiruki are wildin in the background, it's fix it but in the happiest sweetest softest way i could come up w, ryuuken is in here and i believe i made his dilf ass better fr uryuu's sake lmao, this is for my feel good romcom dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawberryRain/pseuds/StrawberryRain
Summary: Ishihime week 2020. Uryuu's floral quest to get the girl.
Relationships: Inoue Orihime/Ishida Uryuu, Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16
Collections: IshiHime Week 2020





	yellow is not an in-between colour

**Author's Note:**

> Ishihime week 2020  
> Prompt: sunflowers
> 
> ~6000 words

Uryuu's mind was whirring. 

Just this morning, Orihime had come in from the rain, her eyes sparkling, and regaled them all with what she called _'an amusing tale'_. Uryuu had erstwhile been sitting deeply wrapped in a book, but he'd dropped it when she announced to the whole class, "you won't _believe_ what happened today!" 

Amongst the titters of the girls and the curious glances of the guys, he thought about it. _It sounds interesting_ , he thought. _Even Kurosaki's turned around. Kuchiki looks like the cat that got the cream. Arisawa just seems concerned. Sado seems just as usual, just more attentive, perhaps. Kojima looks like he's ready to scandalize Asano and draw everyone's attention to his exploits again, really can't stand not being the center of attention huh..._

He decided to let himself analyse the situation while she was being cross-examined by their friends. _Something sweet must've happened. She looks so happy... Perhaps she found a cat and adopted it._ The thought was too cute for him to resist. He imagined her with a sweet little cat, a cat she'd rescued from the big cruel world and given warm milk and cuddles to. He smiled to himself.

Then another thought struck him. 

_Perhaps someone she really likes asked her out. She hadn't been moping about Kurosaki as much lately, maybe she'd already found someone she really likes..._ That was horrifying. He'd known it would happen sooner or later, expected it even, but not when he hadn't even had the chance to tell— _Er, that is,_ he quickly thought, eyes shifting over the group surrounding her, _he'd be happy for her. Oh yes, he would. If she's happy he's happy. For sure._ He noticed the twinkle in her eye again and shuddered softly. Arisawa was looking at him rather strangely. _Ugh, anyway, he should go back to his reading—_

He found himself unable to concentrate and decided to risk hearing, hoping that it really was a cat or something that had happened to her. His ears pricked up as the gossip died down and she finally continued, "I brought a number of those little chocolates with the pink wrappers to eat last night and left them on my bed, then fell asleep at my table after I was done studying... And guess what!" 

More titters. More guesses. Uryuu sighed. He hated guessing games, and the suspense was unbearable. _What had happened?_

"So, so when I woke up this morning, all sleepyhead-like, and walked into my bedroom, guess what I saw!" _What? What? What, Inoue-san, for Quincy's sake?!_ Uryuu decided if he heard her say _guess what_ one more time he'd have to take off his glasses and tune out. 

Finally, as if she'd read his thoughts, she spilled it all, like so— "I saw, yes, the very chocolates I bought myself, strewn over one side of my bed, strewn by me, myself! And I thought they were _flowers_ someone left me to be all romantic!” She giggled, clearly amused with herself. 

Uryuu sat up straight and carefully pushed his glasses up his nose. The others laughed with her, calling her a lovable airhead, sighing over how _romantic_ it would be if it were real, etcetera etcetera, but he wasn't amused. A little sheepishly, he allowed himself a moment to recover, and then—

His mind was whirring. 

~

The first step in his plan was to figure out how much of a chance of success he had. 

He went up to Ichigo and Rukia , who were taking turns putting each other in passionate headlocks. Sensing that they were in good spirits, he awkwardly waited for them to finish. 

Then, sliding down at their table, he turned to Rukia and began, "er, well, Kuchiki- _san_..." Here he flushed deeply at her curious gaze, figdeting with his glasses, "er... what kind of... that is to say—" 

"Tch. Spit it out already," Ichigo said with annoyance. Uryuu glared at him. 

"This is about Inoue, isn't it?" Rukia said shrewdly. He as much as confirmed it for her by blushing even deeper. She smirked. "Y'know, Ishida, she's a simple girl. But I'm quite sure she loves grand gestures of affection. Why don't you try—" 

"Oi!" cut in Ichigo frantically. "Grand gestures are too much work and not enough payoff. The direct method works best”— this was directed at Uryuu —“trust me on this." 

Uryuu scoffed. _Kurosaki telling him not to do any grand gestures? Kurosaki Ichigo? Kurosaki_ ** _will-blaze-through-Soul-Society-and-nearly-get-killed-several-times-for-Rukia_** _Ichigo?_

"She thinks she's always right," Ichigo continued as Rukia gave him a look that could kill, "but I say you just tell her straight. Rukia's never liked grand gestures herself, I dunno why she’s—" 

"Did too!" she shot back hotly. "You had the best makeout of your life after you—!” Uryuu's ears grew red at this. He tried not to listen as they went on. 

"You screamed at me for not listening to you!" Ichigo was screeching. "You called me an idiot!"

"That's cause you are one, fool! But I rewarded you after, didn't I?!" 

Uryuu got up abruptly. "Thanks for the help, Kuchiki- _san_ ," he said sincerely, smiling at her. "I owe you one." 

She reached out and patted his shoulder. "You'll do great! Believe in yourself! Love conquers all!" 

As he nodded solemnly and took off, he heard Ichigo's voice screaming at him, "Oi! Ishida! Nogrand gestures! Are you really gonna believe Rukia’s—" 

He was going to do the grand gesture. 

~ 

His next step was to find Tatsuki. She was with Orihime on the field, learning how to calculate fractals when he ran up. 

"Ochi- _sensei's_ asking for Arisawa," he bluffed. "Right away." 

Tatsuki got up suspiciously. "What for?" she demanded.

"U-uh it's for a p-project," he stammered unconvincingly. "She s-said it was important." 

Orihime looked from one to the other mildly. "It must be important if Ishida- _kun_ says so, Tatsuki- _chan_ ," she whispered, nudging her. 

Uryuu felt a bit relieved. _See, Inoue-san believed him_. But Tatsuki continued to stare at him before something clicked for her. "Be right back," she called out to Orihime, who waved at them as they walked off, "looks like it _is_ important." 

They walked silently until they were in a corridor out of sight from Orihime. 

She turned to him with a grin. "So what do you wanna know 'bout Hime?" 

He sputtered. 

"Well? I ain't got all day!" she muttered impatiently. "What is it?"

"Well, I, I was thinking, um, I should do something grand for her since, you know, she looked so happy today and I was wondering if—"Tatsuki watched him with growing interest. Her grin grew more and more mischievous as he continued to blabber, "so I was wondering if you knew what her favourite flowers were?"

Hmm. Favourite flowers. Of course she knew. 

She raised an eyebrow at him and answered, rather more testily than was necessary, though she was smirking, "the subject's never come up. Why don't you ask her yourself?" And then she was gone. 

Uryuu stared after her and cursed so hard the birds on the trees outside flew right away, squawking loudly. Then he clamped his hand over his mouth and scurried off to do some more plotting and planning. 

How was he going to get it out of her without giving the game away? 

~ 

He was pacing up and down the room when Orihime and the other Craft Club members turned up. 

"Hi, Ishida- _kun_!" she greeted warmly, and Uryuu lost all his resolve for a second. 

"Hi, Inoue- _san_..." He'd worked his ass off all afternoon, getting the requisite permissions and other things he'd need if he was to make his plan a full success. He couldn't risk her finding out. 

Trying to get his resolve back somehow, he reflected meditatively on the matter. He was going to do this, even if it mortified him more than anything had ever mortified him before. _The mortifying ordeal of being known_ and all that jazz. The rewards of love would be his for the taking, as Kuchiki- _san_ had uttered so wisely at lunch just a while ago. What use were all those romcoms he'd binged these past few months if not for—

He cleared his throat rather affectedly as he was brought back to the real world by one of the members asking why they were called for a ' _special meeting_ '. 

Uryuu answered by unrolling with a flourish the poster he'd had tucked under his arm. "We're organizing a handicrafts sale," here he grinned to himself at his little genius of an idea, "the proceeds of which will go to the Children's Fund at Karakura Hospital." 

He chanced a look at Orihime to see if she liked it. Evidently, she did, for she was smiling sweetly. He continued, "the theme is flowers. Your favourite flower to be precise. Now here I have a form for you to fill, if you'd like to enter." 

He drew out a printed form, neatly folded, with columns and rows all systematic, from his coat pocket and placed it upon the desk. "Fill it up one by one, and sign it. You can make anything you like. Deadline Thursday, next week," he ended neatly, looking around at them, then added, "one last thing - we hope for maximum participation. It's for a good cause, after all." He looked at Orihime meaningfully. 

She nodded at him in response and was the first to get up and fill in the columns. He waited quite patiently until they had all filled it in, and then, as the others walked home, he looked at his form. He was pleased to see they'd all decided it was a cause worthy of their participation. 

Orihime had had to rush to her bakery job, she'd told him apologetically. He sincerely told her he didn't mind. 

Taking note of what she'd entered in the ' _pick your flower_ ' column, he saw that she'd filled in ' _sunflowers_ ' in her wiggly but clear writing. 

He placed the form in a folder and submitted it to the school office, then floated home, taking no notice of the rain beating down on him, or of his forgotten umbrella in the Clubroom. 

~ 

When he reached home dripping wet, he fully expected the angry tirade from his dad. What surprised Ryuuken was the absurdly cheerful way in which his son took the scolding. Ryuuken did not like being surprised, _absolutely not_. "You seem... happy," he said, a little more gruffly than he'd intended. "Something good happen at school?"

There was something familiar about Uryuu's cheeriness that pinged Ryuuken's memory. What was it? 

Uryuu merely shrugged, then immediately excused himself to his room, muttering something about too much homework. Ryuuken stared after him thoughtfully. A memory took shape in his mind as he tried to remember when he'd seen his son look a similar way. 

"Ah!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "It's that girl, isn't it? Inoue—"

All that greeted Ryuuken was an embarrassed shriek and a crash, of what he knew must be the lamp by the mirror. He sighed and retired to his office with a telling laugh of victory. 

~

So Uryuu had approximately a week to get things all ready. The trouble was, he thought sadly, some of those things were completely out of his control. He hoped all would work out as planned. As he sat at his table, pondering his fate, his phone rang.

It was Orihime. 

"I was just thinking of you!" he blurted out in greeting, much to his own mortification. It was too much of a coincidence for her to call at that exact moment, right when he was so deep in thought of her— but then, Uryuu rationalized, he'd been thinking of her all the time lately anyway... 

"That's great, isn't it, Ishida- _kun_!" she responded, and he fancied he heard a smile in her voice. 

Feeling somewhat relieved by her response, he listened to her ask if she could come over so they could ' _brainstorm some ideas'_. He considered only for a moment and decided it would be best if he went over to hers instead (he could hear Ryuuken scraping around in his examination room again). 

Orihime seemed thrilled and told him she'd expect him in half an hour, and that was that. 

Then he panicked. 

He was still sopping wet. 

And he had fifteen minutes to get back into pristine condition. He made for the wardrobe. 

~

When he turned up at her doorstep (this time with an umbrella, thankfully, though the sky was much clearer now), he did not expect to be called round to the kitchenside, having rung the bell thrice. 

When he turned the corner of her house he saw her on all fours, with mud on her elbows and knees and her hair tied back into two round space buns. She was showing off a tan in a grey jumpsuit and a straw hat, digging around her little kitchen garden and singing softly to herself. 

He felt his jaw drop and had to pretend to cough so he could cover his mouth with his hand. When she caught his eye and waved, he was delighted to feel an idea light up in his head. 

The sun was setting. As he went over to her, his eyes locked on the bit of mud on her cheek, he bent to his knee, his fingers finding the spot seemingly without his direction and wiping it off ever so gently. He saw the way her lips parted slightly, saw her gaze settle on his and remain there with his hand on her cheek. As his heart sped up erratically, she started to say something—

A crow cawed overhead and they stood up abruptly. "Let's get me cleaned up," she said hastily. 

Over tea and cake, Orihime explained how she'd rigged an evening off from her part-time job, because she was so very excited to start work _'on such a beautiful project'_. Uryuu cut his smile short quickly as it threatened to reach his ears. 

"I have a couple of ideas," he began. He wondered if his idea was too far-out. Then, _nah_ , he thought, _she likes the weird and the wonderful_. He was pretty sure his idea was both. "I thought we could make the usual, but then it struck me... What do you think of edible flower lollipops?" 

Orihime's jaw dropped open. "W-why, that sounds amazing!" she squealed with obvious delight. She added, twinkling, "and we could... make cute little baskets to sell them in!" 

Uryuu twinkled back at her. "That's exactly what I was about to say!" 

They spent the rest of the evening discussing where and how to get supplies and the recipe, making lists and plans and debating as to what to weave the baskets from. They parted quite sweetly. 

"What about favourite flowers, though, Ishida- _kun_?" Orihime remembered just as he was leaving. "Isn't this supposed to be about our favourite flowers?"

Uryuu pondered the dilemma. They couldn't possibly fit sunflowers into tiny lollipops... 

"No one has to know they're your favourites," he said at last. "I left my own column blank, so I'll just enter the ones we pick before the sale." 

She gave him only a glad look in response. 

And for the second time that day, Uryuu floated home— this time on confectionery wings. 

~

The next few days were a blur of activity, even by Uryuu's standards. 

First, him and Orihime decided her baker boss was the best person to ask for advice from, as well as the recipe and the ingredients. 

Uryuu had only known him as the town's resident artisanal baker, for he offered a variety of breads and pastry of the highest quality, though at sometimes exorbitant prices. Being the only good baker around, he did great business despite his progressively irritable attitude as the day went by. Uryuu refused to ask his dad for extra money, but he knew it would come in handy for what Orihime and he had decided. He had his saved-up money ready.

Orihime was working the counter when he showed up after club activities, looking prim and pretty in a pink-and-white apron and baker's hat. She greeted him with flushed cheeks (she'd been getting the freshly baked loaves out of the oven just a while ago) and a warm smile that made him forget all about what he was here for.

"What will you take, Ishida- _kun_?" she asked pointedly and smilingly, her eyes darting over to her boss in the back. "May I suggest one of the specials?"

Uryuu stared at the vast array of gorgeous sweets before him. He didn't consider himself a pastry person by any means; he wasn't even overly fond of chocolates, and the like. But he had to admit the bakery (and Orihime) knew to apply their charms exceedingly well. 

As he picked out some of the goods on a tray Orihime handed him, they talked happily about the happenings of the day, and other things besides, such as how to segue into the subject of their lollipops. It was a rather hard choice picking what he wanted, seeing as he'd never really tried most of these. 

A manly, gruff voice cut through them both when fifteen minutes had passed (a laudable feat of patience on the part of the baker, who was the owner of that voice). 

"I ain't paying you to flirt, Inoue- _kun_ ," he said, all business, though he reached out and patted her head affectionately as he walked up. "Make sure your boyfriend buys enough to keep me quiet, eh?" he added with an exaggerated wink. 

Uryuu blushed profusely and hid his eyes behind his glasses, rapidly picking out a trayful of goodies while he gestured to Orihime to break in their questions. She was blushing similarly, though she quickly composed herself. "Er, sir, we were wondering if you could help us out regarding a project," she said, in the most childlike, innocent manner. "It's for a good cause."

"Is it now?" said the baker, coming round to check Uryuu's bill. "So you bought a ton of goodies, eh? Why don't you buy this _melonpan_ too and I'll answer your questions?" 

It was less of a request than an ultimatum, and Uryuu acquiesced rather huffily. Orihime seemed apologetic, but she threw him an indulgent smile. 

"Right, then, kids. Go on. What is this 'bout?" 

And that's how they got all the information and supplies they needed (for what the baker called a sizeable discount), though Uryuu had run out of a month's pocket money already by then. When Orihime apologized to him later that evening as he was walking her home, he blanched and quickly told her it was fine, and _would she be so kind as to take some of the sweets home to do what she liked with them?_

She obliged with a knowing grin. 

~ 

They had a fine time shopping for ingredients, picking out the cheapest but finest quality stuff they could afford. Uryuu refused to let Orihime pay for it out of her paycheck, knowing she needed the money saved for college. Instead, he used his dad's credit to their advantage, too blissful to worry about the impending tongue-lashing he would receive when Ryuuken found out. 

When everything was assembled at Orihime's place, they realized they'd missed out on the most crucial ingredient of all: edible flowers. Now Orihime had a little garden, and a little bit of knowledge about which flowers would do, so that left them with one single detail: what combination of flowers would look the prettiest?

Uryuu, on the whole, was a neat, meticulous person. That's how he saw himself, and that's how most everyone saw him too. He liked monochrome and precision. 

But Orihime knew his artistic sensibility lay toward the unexpected. So she looked up at him with calculated eyes and offered a suggestion of violets, rose petals, and marigolds. 

"In pink gel lollipops!" they both added enthusiastically, beaming at each other. 

~

They went flower picking on a brilliant blue morning. There was a ' _darling grove’_ as Orihime called it, at walking distance on the outskirts of town, where flowers and fruit could be picked at leisure, for affordable prices. It was owned by a young couple whose ancestors planted it, and they continued to care for it with great delight. 

Uryuu had never been there before, but Orihime often came by to pluck apples for pies and applesauce. They invited their friends and decided to make a picnic of it on Saturday. Orihime and Uryuu picked up Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro, while Rukia and Ichigo were visiting Byakuya, and so would come by later. 

It started out with him being somewhat on edge, unused as he was to teenage frivolity of any kind. As frivolous as the whole picnic affair was in theory, Uryuu found as the day passed that he began to unwind in the natural beauty of the grove, so much so that he didn't even grimace when Ichigo accidentally ruined his shirt by spilling juice on it, or when Tatsuki sent Keigo flying with a kick for perving on the girls' sundresses. 

Orihime had along a little basket expressly to fill with flowers. They filled it up as they went, hopping around to pluck the colourful posies and giggling like teenagers, which is what they were. 

Uryuu couldn't remember a single time they'd actually felt this way since they all gained their powers.

It was impossibly saccharine and felt much like a fever dream, but there he was: his pristine shirt stained orange, a flower in his hair and Orihime on his back, tugging at his hair and laughing as he carried her to where the others were. 

He came home looking like a _boy_ and when Ryuuken began to say something he was promptly met with, "don't say a word," and so it was. 

It had been almost too good to be true, and Uryuu had nearly expected a hollow to burst in on them out of nowhere, but apparently hollows were on holiday or something, or Harribel was keeping them in line; either way he decided there was some truth to the power of friendship stuff after all. 

~

Then it was time to get to work. 

Making batch after batch of hard candy (with flower arrangement, no less) was no easy feat for a couple of high school students, but they managed it with plenty of time to spare. Working creatively and meticulously, Orihime and Uryuu found they had a lot of things to talk, and laugh about with each other. 

"We should hang out after the sale," she said breathlessly, when their final batch in 4 days was ready. She would weave the baskets alone, they'd decided earlier. Uryuu had agreed more easily than Orihime thought he would, and it puzzled her when he gave in with what looked like a smug smile. 

He gave her a reassuring tap on the shoulder and replied, "of course Inoue- _sa_ \-- Ori- Orihime- _san_ ," blushing again. It felt like a decidedly big level-up to Uryuu. "Keep a free day so we can go see one of the festivals together, please?"

"It's a date," she responded, with a winning smile. 

~ 

The sale went so well that Uryuu was able to persuade the Student Council to unanimously agree to allocate more funds to the Craft Club. 

He'd helped Orihime that morning, getting the baskets and the beautiful lollies to the gym, where a stand with a ' _Hime and Ryuu's Flower Power Pops_ ' sign was waiting for them. He wasn't particularly fond of being called Ryuu, but she had wanted a cute name for their stall, smartly pointing out that their prime audience was kids with expensive parents. 

He had to admit _Hime and Ryuu_ sounded really cute though. 

The lollipops in their pretty wicker baskets sold like hot cakes, getting rave reviews from all corners. Even some of the teachers bought them. Tatsuki, Ichigo, Rukia and the others spent what money they had lavishly, winking at them both and generally causing a good humoured ruckus. 

Uryuu sniffed proudly at Orihime advertising their already-famous wares with a blowhorn. A kid came up and gave her a flower crown he'd bought from one of the other stalls, and she looked like such an angel wearing it Uryuu couldn't help but beam at her. 

"Uryuu- _kun_ , we did it!" she exclaimed happily, when the sale was done, throwing her arms round him. "We've even got two lollies left just for ourselves - I saved them!" He reflexively returned her hug, feeling combustible as she relaxed into his chest. 

They bet each other as to who would finish sucking the lollipops first, and the clear winner was Orihime, lost as he was in his trance of watching her inhale her own pop in a second. "Well deserved," he said bashfully. "Very well done," as she grinned stickily up at him. 

That night, Uryuu’s mind was whirring once more. 

~

He'd checked the calendar, cleared out his schedule, confirmed hers, and met with their friends. It was all decided. 

He was finally going to do the grand gesture. 

Well, actually, it wasn't so much a grand gesture as simply a gesture that ought to be grand owing to the sheer _scale_ of it, but Uryuu was pleased and excited nonetheless. Things seemed to be falling into place. 

It was already August. 

He refused to tell her where they were going until D-Day arrived, try as she might to worm it out of him. Even their friends kept his secret, something he was utterly shocked and grateful for, though Rukia, much to his amusement, did keep grumbling about how Ichigo hadn't bought her flowers since last weekend. 

It all seemed like a movie to Uryuu. 

Tatsuki had taken him aside a day before the big day and slapped him hard on the back, telling him many uncanny things she'd noticed about him and Orihime and threatening to peel him like a cucumber if he hurt her. Then she'd thrown him a solid grin that he took for a blessing and left him to his own thoughts. 

When the morning came he was horrified to see that the sky was cloudy. He frantically checked the weather but all he could find was the forecast of a sunny day he’d already meticulous checked last night. He cursed to himself. 

Ryuuken stared at him over the newspaper all through breakfast, but made no comment. Uryuu was grateful for the little courtesy, seeing as he was already so nervous and worried. When he got up not having ingested a single morsel, Ryuuken merely observed, quite mildly, that the _weather was often unpredictable, and could go from rainy to sunny in a blink_. 

Uryuu paused, slightly astonished, then turned round and quickly said, “good talk!” before rushing over to Orihime's with a more excited frame of mind. 

~

Orihime was still wondering whether to put her hair up or leave it down when the doorbell rang. She rushed, her hair half-up, and was greeted by the sight of Ishida Uryuu looking dapper in light summery clothes... and a goddamn limo! 

She stared. 

"Orihime- _san_ ," he was saying, "the carriage awaits," holding out his arm gallantly. 

Orihime sputtered. “I—Ishida... Uryuu- _kun_! That... limo...?" 

Uryuu smiled in a rather embarrassed manner, his hand automatically going to his glasses, his palm sweaty even as Orihime took his other arm and smiled up at him properly. “Byakuya— I mean— Kuchiki- _taichou_ insisted,” he explained.

It was mind-boggling: that sleek black limo in the middle of a little road in a little town. Orihime wondered if she wasn't still asleep. 

Swiftly gathering her bearings, she smiled again at him most charmingly, and stepped daintily into the carriage. 

Uryuu signalled the driver when they were settled, and off they went. 

~

The ride took only around half an hour or so, during which Uryuu, nervous as hell and trying not to look it, kept adjusting the non-existent creases on his freshly pressed shirt and making small talk. Orihime, curious and not in the least put off by his dedicated attempts to deter her, continued to ask questions. Eventually, though, she began to focus on counting the turns they took, so she might know where they were headed. The driver wasn't much help in that department. 

The limo was lit by iridescent panels all over, though dark windows obscured much of the outside. Uryuu, unable to keep track of the weather or the route, continued feeling more and more anxious as they went on ahead. _Looks like this is turning out to be as much of a surprise for me as for her,_ he thought with panic.

"Deep breaths, Uryuu- _kun_ ," Orihime whispered, giving him an encouraging look. 

~

Half an hour later, they were getting out... someplace that Orihime still didn't know, as she had recently allowed herself to be blindfolded by Uryuu. Her entire being concentrated to gather as many clues as she could, she sniffed the air and gathered the rich earthy smell of mud, and a kind of scent too subtle to exactly place. She was surprised to not hear the sounds of people... Where on earth was this secluded place? 

She wondered if it could really be it...? 

They walked on carefully and slowly, her leaning on Uryuu to guide her. He held her gently but firmly by the hand, and as they walked further on she couldn't quite gain any other clues, except that it was still cloudy (she felt no Sun on her brow) and the lingering petrichor scent she'd already inhaled. 

She was ready to see now. Yet Uryuu led her on and on. 

Finally, they stopped somewhere, and Uryuu let go of her hand. Gingerly taking off the blindfold for her, he turned her around as she opened her eyes. What she saw knocked her breath out of her for a second: they were in a sunflower field. No, field was too small a word; a sunflower _festival_ , it seemed to be, for there were thousands and thousands and thousands (Orihime would say there were a hundred thousand, but of course she couldn't be sure) sunflowers tracking the sun and beaming up at her. 

She gasped audibly and covered her mouth with her palms. 

Uryuu whispered, "welcome to the Kiyose Sunflower Festival," with a soft flourish of his hand, gauging her reaction carefully. 

She couldn't find the words for a moment, and he didn't press her. As they continued to gaze at the flowers in silence, the clouds parted to reveal the truant Sun again, and lo! The flowers seemed to literally bloom before their eyes: a whole world of sunflowers blooming before Orihime in their full and infinite glory. 

She was stunned. 

Uryuu thought he saw her smile from the corner of his eyes, but when he turned to face her again he was stunned too: there were tears running down her face. 

He was momentarily so shocked he couldn't think straight; he rummaged in his pockets for a handkerchief while his mind began to run. _Why was she crying? Did she not like it? Was he mistaken in thinking she would enjoy this? Perhaps there was a sad memory attached to the flowers, or the place? Was she disgusted at his ignorance?_

He felt her hand clasp his. 

"O-Orihime- _san_... I...," he started, offering her the handkerchief. "I'm sorry if I-"

She silenced him with a single squeeze to his arm. He let her experience the moment quietly. 

Her tears continued to trickle like salty pearls down her flushed cheeks, her eyes starting to look like they had the stars in them. Glazed over and shining. She was hiccuping and sobbing ever-so-quietly, and though he felt sad, there was something so quiet and intimate about the moment he was moved by it too. 

It struck him like a soft rainfall: _he was watching her soul unfold before him_. 

Clasping her hand tighter, he turned her around and pulled her close to himself ever-so-gently, his chin resting on the top of her head and his other arm on her back as she sobbed quietly into his chest. He could feel her heart beating erratically against his, and his own sped up urgently in response to hers. 

They stood there, like that, until there was nothing else to think about, nothing else to feel except each other, with the wind blowing around them and the beauty of the flowers. 

Slowly but surely, their heartbeats synced up again as she relaxed against him, her arms growing tighter around him before she stepped back and faced him. "I'm sorry," she started, and Uryuu felt his heart jump into his throat. 

_So he'd really been mistaken..._

"It's just so beautiful... It's so beautiful I could cry!" she squealed, her eyes growing watery again. 

Uryuu stared at her for a long moment before he offered her a smile, and then they were both laughing. Both amused and relieved at once, still laughing, he bowed and offered her his hand. "Would you care to dance, milady?" he asked her. 

She took his hand without a word and, still giggling, they danced through the field, and played, and walked, and frolicked to their heart's content, though the sudden afternoon heat pressed upon them wearily. 

_How come there's no people around_ , she eventually asked him, before the obvious answer presented itself: _Byakuya. Of course._ They burst into fresh peals of laughter again. 

"Did you know these flowers were planted to soak up radioactive remnants?" she asked him solemnly, when they were lying beside each other to rest. 

Uryuu felt it click into his head like a puzzle piece. He half-sat-up and focused his full attention on her. "Is... is that why you cried, just then?" 

She took a while to answer.

"I thought of the past, the history we are taught at school," she said, "and I couldn't help but think: how lucky are we? To be gazing at these blooms as a thing of beauty." Uryuu nodded. "And then I thought: how lucky am I? Me, that got to witness these lovely flowers in this way, because you brought me here, Uryuu- _kun_ , and I can't think of a better person to have shared this with, and I've.." the tears threatened to return again, but she fought and gave him a watery smile instead, "I've always wanted to see this festival since I was a kid."

She was looking at him so softly he thought his heart would break on the spot. He drew closer to her. 

"Thank you, Uryuu," she said into his neck. 

They went home with fresh-cut sunflowers tucked under her arm, on the train this time. (Byakuya would be furious, but Uryuu did not care.)

~ 

The next morning, they turned up at school hand-in-hand: him blushing furiously and her beaming a thousand-watt smile. 

The crowd whispered and tittered and gathered round them instantly. "You won't _believe_ what happened yesterday!" Orihime began, and this time, Uryuu knew exactly where the story was going. He allowed her to bask in her spotlight indulgently, stepping back and enjoying the looks on their friends' faces. 

At least he did so until Rukia and Tatsuki grabbed him and began thumping at his back in turn, at which point he grabbed Orihime's hand and decided to **_exit, left_** before Ichigo got any similarly violent ideas. 

And that's how Ishida Uryuu got the girl: with a lot of brainstorming, friendly support, and Byakuya _(bless his rich nosy ass)_ Kuchiki. 

~ _fin_.


End file.
